Some Cowboys Brave the Flames (Keagans of Copper Creek #10)

Chapter 4

4

Charlie

W inged beasts beat inside Charlie’s chest, thrashing and thundering until she couldn’t hear anything but her roaring pulse in her ears. The closer it got to her first cooking lesson, the harder it became to keep a level head.

She felt like she was going crazy. Her reactions weren’t normal. The man who’d be arriving today was just that—a man. She’d known him for years. Sure, he was objectively attractive, and her schoolgirl crush had decided to stick around, but he was also very taken.

Charlie despised the way her body had betrayed her when he’d told Liam he was already dating someone. She knew that was a possibility. It wasn’t like he would have told her about it anyway. The tiny beam of hope that had shone just a few months prior when she’d noticed just how much time he spent at her home had been eclipsed by the hard reality that he was still just her brother’s friend.

“Geez, Charlie, you okay?” Daniel’s voice cut into her thoughts, and she focused on him standing in the kitchen doorway. His brows were pulled tight together, and then he moved across the room and touched her forehead.

She swatted him away. “I’m fine,” Charlie said.

“You look like a zombie,” he said, shaking his head. “Do you even know how long you were standing there staring off into space? Maybe you should go get some rest.”

“I’m fine ,” she snapped once more.

He lifted a brow along with both hands. “Okay, okay. You’re fine .” Daniel glanced around the counter at what Charlie had spread out. Today she planned on teaching Ash how to make cream cheese rangoons. They were a simple but delicious starter for almost any meal. Daniel lifted his focus to her once more and opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

“If you ask me if I’m okay one more time, I’m going to bite your head off.” She was on edge. She could admit it. But she wasn’t going to have her brothers hovering over her. It had gotten old when she was only twelve. Lately, Daniel had seemed to take on the full responsibility of making sure she didn’t date anyone who was not up to their strict standards, and occasionally his helicopter nature would bleed into everyday life.

Her brother chuckled. He was nine years older than she was and the tallest of all her brothers, towering over her five-foot-four frame a good thirteen inches. He was the most intimidating man in town—second only to Zeke Callahan. He had a couple tattoos on his arms—something Wade had disapproved of the second he’d gotten them. The ironic thing about Daniel was that while he would have been terrifying on the outside to almost anyone, his family knew just what a teddy bear he was.

Daniel was quiet. He loved old buildings and architecture. If he hadn’t been born into the cowboy lifestyle, she could have seen him designing works of art in the biggest cities around the world.

Charlie smiled despite herself. “ Really , I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m just a little distracted.” That was putting it mildly. She had no way of knowing how Ash would behave once they were alone. Everyone was busy working today—Daniel included. She didn’t know why he’d come inside, but she knew he would be heading out again any second.

He motioned to the fixings for her lesson. “Are you going to save some for me?”

A wider smile streaked across her face. Out of everyone in their family, he enjoyed her food the most. He was always first in line to eat, and he almost always came back for seconds. She counted him as two people when she fixed supper, and to this day, she couldn’t figure out where he put it all. “Do you even have to ask?”

Daniel beamed. “Okay, good.” His concerns seemed to be forgotten, and he headed out of the house.

Charlie turned her gaze to the food on the counter, and her vision blurred as she let her thoughts be consumed by Ash again. He would be there any second. They’d be stuck together for the next few hours, and she wasn’t sure if her heart was going to handle it.

It would have to. That’s what she kept telling herself. Charlie would have to suffer through the afternoon with Ash close enough to touch. She’d have to ignore all the inappropriate thoughts because he was taken. She didn’t have any claim to him, and she never would.

A light knock, and her head snapped up to find Ash standing just inside the kitchen. He had one hand shoved in his pocket and stood with the majority of his weight on his right foot. A half smile tugged at one side of his mouth, but he didn’t approach her yet. “Are you ready for me?”

No . She nearly blurted the word and told him he should leave—that this was a mistake and the two of them should stay far, far away from each other. But if she did that, she’d be proving that she wasn’t as mature as she thought she was.

Charlie nodded, reaching for her apron off the counter. “Yeah. Come on in.”

He strolled into the kitchen like he owned the world. Darn him and his confidence. Ash had always been that way, though. Come to think of it, he’d been Mason’s opposite, which was why they were probably such good friends.

Charlie swallowed hard and tied her apron behind her. She turned away from him, praying he didn’t notice how he affected her. Six years, and he still made her feel—small, unworthy of his attention.

“Do I get one of those?” His low voice was so close to her ear that she jumped.

A gasp ripped from her throat, and she spun to face him. “What?”

He reached out and plucked the strap that wrapped around her neck. His skin brushed against hers briefly before he released it. “An apron. You got one for me?”

She lifted her brows with amusement. “You want an apron?”

He shrugged.

Charlie snickered. “I think you’ll be fine. But if you really want one, I’m sure there’s one hanging in the pantry.” She motioned, only moderately surprised when he immediately moved in that direction. When he emerged, she let out a laugh.

Kiss the Cook was sprawled across his chest. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s time to get started,” she said, ignoring his question. “We’re making rangoons. Right there are the wraps. And we have cream cheese, chives, bacon, and imitation crab mix if you want to try out something more traditional.” She could feel his eyes on her as she got down to business. If she could get through this lesson without him talking about their past, then she’d call that a win.

“Did you ever tell anyone?”

She froze at his whispered question. Then her head snapped up, and she looked over to the door. If any of her brothers overheard what he’d said, she’d be in so much trouble. Her eyes darted to Ash. “Of course not,” she hissed. “Who do you think I am?” She should be offended by his assumption. And yet she couldn’t blame him for wondering.

Ash shifted at her side, and she ignored the way his closeness added to the tension of his pointed question. They didn’t speak of anything besides the food for a good twenty minutes. But then he got a call and excused himself. It was short, and when he returned, she asked. “Work?”

He glanced over to her briefly. “Yes. I’m going to be on call next weekend.”

She nodded, her mouth forming a tight line.

“What’s that look for?” he asked.

Charlie glanced at him with surprise, then shook her head. “Nothing.”

“That wasn’t nothing,” he pressed. “I know nothing, but the look you just gave me? I’d say it bordered on disgust.”

Charlie placed her hands on her hips. “You really wanna know?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t,” he said, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Fine. I think your job is dumb.”

His brows shot up, and for a moment she thought he might get mad. Then he threw back his head and laughed. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you? Wanna tell me why?”

She continued to frown, her eyes drifting to the rangoons in the pan of hot oil. “Any job that puts a life in danger isn’t worth doing.”

Ash tilted his head and stared at her, his expression more contemplative. “Don’t you think you should be able to do something you love?”

She pressed her lips together hard until they tingled, then met his gaze once more. “I think that it’s selfish to believe that a person’s job only affects themselves. You have a girlfriend. If something were to happen to you, I’m sure she’d be devastated.”

He frowned at her. Good. She’d struck a nerve. He needed to think about others—about the people in his life who would suffer if something went wrong. But he didn’t agree with her. Nor did he argue. Instead, Ash changed the subject. “Are you seeing anyone?”

Charlie shook her head, a flush spreading across her cheeks. No one compared to him, and that meant she didn’t usually accept a second invitation for a date. “Want to tell me about her?” she asked, referring to his girlfriend.

Ash’s eyes narrowed momentarily, then he nodded. “Like I’ve said. She enjoys food—and cooking. She’s quiet but strong. The blue in her eyes could make a sane man go crazy and a crazy man turn sane.”

She bit back a smile at his last statement. “She sounds lovely.”

“She is. But she’ll never admit it. I think she doesn’t believe she’ll ever be good enough.”

His words struck a chord. Charlie knew exactly what that felt like. She could relate on so many levels to that one statement—and she hated it. She wanted to dislike whoever had stolen Ash’s heart, but knowing she was just as insecure as she was made it difficult.

“It’s nice to see that you’ve honed your cooking skills. I seem to recall you getting into it when you were fourteen. Do you think you’d like to make something more of it?”

She shrugged. “It’s great, but I’m not sure if I’d ever be good enough to run a restaurant or anything.” Then she tossed him a pointed look. “If I did, you could bet that it’d be safer than smoke jumping.”

He chuckled. “I dunno. Those knives can be pretty sharp.” He reached across her and picked up a steak knife. His hand brushed against her arm, but he didn’t seem to notice.

Unfortunately, Charlie’s whole body was set aflame. She could feel the heat emanating from deep inside her bones. She stared at the spot where he’d touched her, not able to drag her gaze from it.

Only once in her life had she felt this way. And it had been with Ash.

She shook her head and closed her eyes. Nope. She wasn’t going to go there. Ash had a girlfriend. He was learning to cook for her, for goodness’ sake. Charlie was just his friend’s kid sister, and that was all she’d ever be. It didn’t matter that her body wanted to react to him. All that mattered was that he wasn’t available, and she needed to respect his space.

Charlie took a step away from him and motioned toward the rangoons still in the pan. “Fish them out with that metal slotted spoon and put them on the paper towels. I’ll be right back.” She rushed off to the bathroom without waiting for him to make a comment. Once alone, she pressed trembling hands to her face and let out a sigh.

This whole thing was ridiculous. She was blowing it all out of proportion, and it needed to stop. She gulped in deep breath after deep breath. She’d learned to ignore him back when he’d given her that first kiss.

She could do it again.